HOW WOULD YOU ALLOCATE $1 BILLION OF CAPITAL IN REAL ESTATE?
REAL CONFIDENCE UNIVERSITY PORTFOLIO CHALLENGE II LAUNCHES TODAY
32 Universities Compete for $50,000 in Prizes from Altus Group, NAREIT®, NCREIF®
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 14, 2016) – Dozens of students from universities across North America are competing in the Real Confidence™ University Portfolio Challenge II, a year-long competition for university students to gain hands-on learning experience in public and private commercial real estate investing. The students will take part in an investment simulation competition to manage a $1 billion real estate portfolio, indexed to well-known real estate benchmarks.
The Real Confidence University Portfolio Challenge II is made possible by Altus Group Limited (“Altus Group”) (TSX: AIF), in collaboration with the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT®) and the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF®).
Each university’s team will allocate $1 billion in theoretical capital among a variety of commercial real estate investment opportunities found within the public equity, private equity, public debt and private debt sectors. The performance of each sector’s weighted investment selection will be calculated with their respective benchmark return data provided by NAREIT®, NCREIF®, Markit® and Giliberto-Levy Commercial Mortgage Performance Index℠.
“We are pleased to be hosting this Challenge for the second year as it provides students with a great opportunity to get involved in the industry and gain a broader perspective of real estate investment,” said Robert Courteau, Chief Executive Officer of Altus Group. “Through the Challenge, we aim to support future industry professionals - enhancing their investment knowledge and teamwork skills as we continue to invest in our commitment to education.”
The competition will conclude in July 2017 and includes $50,000 USD in total prize money. The team with the best-performing portfolio for the year will be awarded $30,000, with quarterly prizes of $2,500 awarded to the university with the top public and private section performance of their portfolio.
“We are pleased to be partners in this program that is designed to build interest and skill in real estate investment among members of the next generation of investors,” said Steven A. Wechsler, President and CEO of NAREIT. “We believe the competition can teach important lessons about real estate and the essential role it plays in investment portfolios.”
Students and industry professionals can follow the portfolio performance at www.realconfidence.com/upc. The interactive website showcases a leaderboard, blog posts and industry expert commentary.
Student teams from the following universities will be participating in the Real Confidence University Portfolio Challenge II:
- American University
- Brigham Young University
- Case Western Reserve University
- College of Charleston
- DePaul University
- Florida Atlantic University
- Florida State University
- Georgetown University
- Harvard University
- Hollins University
- Indiana University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Lehigh University
- Middle Tennessee State University
- Pepperdine University
- Southern Methodist University
- Texas A&M
- Texas Christian University
- The Ohio State University
- The Pennsylvania State University
- University of Chicago
- University of Connecticut
- University of Denver
- University of Georgia
- University of Miami
- University of Missouri – Kansas City
- University of San Diego
- University of Texas at Arlington
- University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Utah State University
- William and Mary
- York University
“This unique contest provides an exciting way to watch how the students complete their selections across the quadrants of real estate investing,” said Peter Steil, CEO, NCREIF. “It will be intriguing to see how the strategies and choices of our next generation of leaders and investors will perform against one another.”